


Stranger in the Bathtub

by bewaretheboojum



Series: Learning to Adapt [4]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics), Superboy (Comics), Young Justice (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Fluff, Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24170095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewaretheboojum/pseuds/bewaretheboojum
Summary: Tim and Kon have taken on the mantle of Batman and Superman and things between them, both in and out of uniform, have settled into something close to normal. Then Tim discovers a small child in one of Luthor's Basement Labs. Kon and Tim and working hard to get the hang of parenting. But during a very boring meeting with the Justice League, Kon gets a text from Tim...
Relationships: Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Series: Learning to Adapt [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741612
Comments: 6
Kudos: 86
Collections: TimKon Week





	Stranger in the Bathtub

Right now, Kon did feel that Mr. Terrific was being particularly terrific.

He fought the urge to fidget as he listened to Michael drone on about the latest battle tactics he had designed. The briefing was only supposed to last for about twenty minutes, but J'onn had asked several questions that Michael had only been too happy to elaborate on.

At length.

Cassie shot him a sympathetic grimace and Kon gave her a quick smile. It was nice to know that, despite it all, he had one person in the room who was just as bored as he was.

Sitting up straighter in his seat, Kon tried to look the part of Superman.

While Kon had been Superman for going on a couple of years now, there were still times when he felt a little out of place in the uniform.

There had been an attack on Earth by alien species looking for mining resources years ago. While the League had managed to beat it back, both Kal and Bruce had taken on serious injuries. After that, Tim and Kon had assumed their code names and, along with Cassie, started working more and more with the League.

Becoming Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman had always been something that the three of them had both actively fought against but also understood the inevitability of.

At least the three of them had been able to deal with the transition together. It had brought them even closer than they had been during their time in the Titans and Young Justice.

While the transition came with its fair share of complications and conflicts, the three of them had eased into something close to normalcy the past few months working with the League.

Though it did all come with some consequences. Like Kal and Bruce trying to tell them what to do more often than they should and endless League briefings. Cassie, Tim and Kon tried not to rock the boat too much. They showed deference to the old guard, even if it meant listening to more battle plans than Kon really felt was strictly necessary.

Trying to focus his attention back on Michael and J'onn, Kon still felt his mind drifting back home to Tim and...

Kon jumped when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. While he had tried to stay basically true to Kal's uniform design, he sure as hell wasn't going to go without pockets.

Fishing out his phone, Kon glanced down at the text readout. It was from Tim who was, technically, off duty tonight.

*There's a stranger in our bathroom.*

The text read.

Kon furrowed his brows in momentary confusion and then a few seconds later another message came through with a picture.

It was a picture of Al's smiling face. She was in the bathtub, her fine toddler's hair was spiked up in a mohawk and a thick beard of bubbles covered her chubby cheeks. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement as she looked adoringly at Tim.

Kon couldn't help but smile and fought down a laugh as he looked at his daughter, grinning happily into the camera through her bubble beard.

*She says you can vouch for her. Better hurry home.* Tim texted again.

Kon felt a thick warmth flood this stomach. He got to his feet without thinking, totally forgetting where he was for a moment. Michael broke off his lecture about battle dynamics to glare over at Kon.

"Superman," he said flatly. "Was there something you need?"

"Got called in for backup," Kon explained, holding up his phone defensively. "I have to leave immediately."

"I saw that too. Batman clearly needs you back in Metropolis. I'll fill you in on the rest of the briefing later," Cassie said solemnly, a serious expression on her face. Kon could still see the glint of humor in her eyes as she nodded to Kon to go.

"Thank you!" Kon called and headed out.

Kon was back on Earth moments later. Having superspeed did have its advantages. Less than three minutes after Tim's last text, Kon made his way into the apartment he shared with Tim and their daughter, Al.

Al was...

Al was a miracle.

Four years ago, not too long after they transitioned into their new codenames, Tim had deduced that Luthor was continuing his cloning experiments. He had kept it a secret from Kon in an effort not to upset him. Though when Tim raided Luthor's cloning facilities he hadn't found the series of failed clones he had expected.

He found only one clone. 

A perfect one.

A healthy one.

A small baby girl, just a few months old.

Crying, alone in a dark sterile laboratory

Tim had rescued her before destroying Luthor's facilities and any remaining Kryptonian DNA samples he had. He whisked Al away and...

Adopting her hadn't even been a question. Kon had known from the moment he first saw her that she was part of them now.

They named her after the Kryptonian word for daughter, Aonah-El. Shortened to Ao-El or Al.

And Al was a miracle.

She was a bright, happy child with a musical laugh and big blue eyes that could get even Tim to hand over an extra cookie. She spoke both English and Kryptonian, much to Kal's delight. And she was spoiled by both her grandfathers and every single one of her myriad of aunts and uncles.

Kon could hear Al and Tim talking as soon as he got into the apartment. They were splashing in the bathtub, Al's little toddler's voice, full of laughter, as she talked to Tim. Smiling broadly, Kon listened to them as he crept down the hall of their apartment towards the bathroom.

"I'm telling you, my daughter doesn't have a mohawk," Tim was explaining to her calmly. "And she certainly doesn't have a beard."

"But Daddy~" Al protested, giggling as she spoke. "It's bubbles."

"Bubbles?" Tim asked, not sounding convinced.

"Who is this intruder I hear is in our bathtub!" Kon roared, pushing open the bathroom door and bursting inside. Tim smiled up at him as Al collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Uki! It's me!" Al cried between fits of laughter.

Al called Tim Daddy and Kon Uki. The Kryptonian word for dad was Ukr, but when she learned to talk, she struggled with the harsh 'kr' sound and Uki it was.

"Al?" Kon asked, feigning surprise as he kneeled down next to Tim by the tub. He blinked at her dramatically and poked at her beard of bubbles. "Is that you?"

"Yes! It's me!"

"But... when did you grow a beard?" he asked, trying his best to sound baffled.

"That's what I asked her," Tim put in, shaking his head. "She told me 'just now' and I told her it takes me a few weeks to grow mine that long..."

"Well," Kon said, pitching his voice to be smug and proud as he fingered the short, full beard on his own face. "Al clearly takes after me then. I can grow mine that long much faster."

"See, Daddy!" Al said, as if pointing out the obvious.

"Of course. It's just the superior Kryptonian genes at play," Tim said, wryly amused.

"Exactly," Kon agreed and Al nodded along seriously.

"Well you might want to do something about that mohawk before Grandpa Bruce sees it," Tim said, getting to his feet. "Last time Auntie Harper had a mohawk he gave her subtly disapproving looks nonstop."

Kon helped Al rinse the soap off her face and from her hair as Tim grabbed her a big fluffy towel. They dried her off while Kon told her all about how, with the help of her Aunt Cassie, he had valiantly escaped from the clutches of Mr. Terrific who was bent on boring him to death.

After a glass of water and two stories, Al was fast asleep, Krypto curled up next to her in her small toddler's bed.

When they closed the door to her bedroom, leaving it just a little ajar, Tim turned to smile tiredly up at Kon.

"Thanks for coming home. She was missing you," Tim said, leaning in to tuck his arms beneath Kon's and wrap them around Kon's chest. He pressed his face into Kon's shoulder and let out a soft, relieved breath.

Kon hugged him back, resting his cheek on the top of Tim's head as he held him close.

"Just Al was missing me?" Kon teased, relaxing into the comforting feeling of having Tim in his arms.

Tim hummed briefly before nodding.

"And Krypto. He was missing you too."

"Just Krypto?" Kon prompted, smiling now.

"Well..." Tim hedged briefly, Kon lifted his head to look down at Tim as he tilted his head to look up at Kon with a soft smile on his face. "I guess I did a little too."

Smiling, Kon pressed a kiss to Tim's temple and took a long deep breath, smelling baby soap and coffee on Tim's skin.

"I missed you all, too," Kon said. "I always do."


End file.
